Well, in that case, go for it. I love the one you posted.

Gorgeous light, and I like those urns better, too. Rejuvenation also has some very pretty flush mount lights if that would work better than a pendant due to the tall DH issue. You work fast, m'dear!

I love that light fixture and I think it will look beautiful against the wood of your door! And my vote is for the Terra Cotta planter ;-)

I can't wait to see it all come together! I wish I had 1/2 your energy. I'm still plugging along on putting mulch in the beds and haven't begun to spruce up the porches! One of these days...!

Okay, No-green-thumb .. the cost was around $350 for give or take 40 feet of rail, that includes the lumber and everything to finish them in the price. ( nails, screws, caulk, a good primer, paint etc )

My husband wanted me to tell you though since this was going to be painted, to keep the cost low we made our own balusters by ripping down 2x4's. He said 10 footers gave the least waste. After ripping down the wood, he went over any rough edges with a hand planer, then knocked the corners off with a router. That buying even simple pre-made pine balusters would add a lot to the price.

Thanks Lyban, Sarschlos_remodeler and Hoosiergirl! I need to pull out a ladder and figure out just how much room I have from the top of the door to the porch ceiling, but so far I'm really liking that light fixture.

Thanks for the info, Zipdee. We have about 24' so that would be roughly $210 --- maybe to $250 - which is a far cry from almost $1,000.
I just received my estimated for my patio today. Talk about sticker shock! It's going to take several drinks to get over that! But installing the patio is something we can't do so we need to have it done - which is why I am trying to cut corners on some of the other things I plan to do. Thanks a lot for your reply!

I love the light fixture. It looks like a schoolhouse fixture for the outside.

I have to say the light fixture is so charming! I love it! It does seem to have a schoolhouse style, as Val mentioned.

No-green-thumb- sorry to hear about your patio sticker shock. Everything is very expensive these days, it seems. We're in the same boat as you are - can't do it ourselves, so we need to hire out. I hope it works out for you.

Jan

No_green_thumb, your welcome. :) I hope you guys can do your own work on the rails yourselves, to take up the slack for your new patio. Any time you add in labor costs it really will sky rocket the price!

Things are expensive. With the economy taking a downward turn, the cost of gas and the cost of living increasing .. the cost of running a business increases too. Our insurance policies for the business doubled this year. Also the gas prices are killing us, for my DH and one crew to haul all the equipment to a job site for one day can cost anywhere from $200 - $400 in diesel fuel! Which all ends up having to be factored into a job, otherwise we'd be working at a loss. The economy right now is hurting everyone, that's for sure!

Val and Jan, I agree with you that they have a school house light look to them. I think that's probably why I'm drawn to them, I love school house fixtures of all shaped and sizes. :)

Zipdee, I've been thinking about the celery green vs. terra cotta and I'd feel awful if you got the terra cotta then didn't like it and I know you love the celery green PLUS I *should* know how to photoshop and just haven't taken the time to do anything with it, so this gave me a good kick in the patoot to learn it! Here's your house with the celery green (they might be too large, but it's the best I could do first time around!). If I get a minute, I'll try my hand at turning them into the terra cotta & see what you think.

And here's the terra cotta. Watcha think?!

Wow, Hoosiergirl .. thank you for taking the time to photoshop those for me! It really helps me out a lot. Okay after seeing both up against the house, I agree with you the Terra Cotta color looks much better!! I have two more places local I'm going to try looking for large planters at. If I strike out though, I think I'll put the order in for the Terra Cotta ones. Thanks again, super nice of you! :)

Not a problem -- like I said, I've been meaning to learn it anyway! I do like the terra cotta better, but I don't think the celery green would look as bright as it does on the pic, either. The lighting of the photo of the planters was MUCH brighter than it would be on your porch, so the celery green would be more muted, most likely. But I still think the terra cotta gets my vote. (But I wish others would chime in, too!)

Hoosiergirl, I agree the celery would probably read more muted too on a shaded porch too, it's just so hard to go by an on-line picture to order. That's one of the reasons I'm still searching locally. I actually bought two large pots the other day, brought them home, sat them down and hated them .. I brought them right back. *LOL* I'd really like something I could return with ease if that happens to me again, which it probably will .. I'm a trail an error type of decorator. *LOL* ;)

I'm the same way, Zipdee! That's why I thought it might help to see the planters on the house, but real life can be SO much different than a photo so I totally understand wanting to buy locally! Good luck! I hope you find the PERFECT planters!

Hoosiergirl .. Check out what I found at Home Depot today *LOL* :

{{!gwi}}

They are the exact same ones as Ballards! They did have the green there in the 18" and whoa was it brighter than that picture, much more lime than celery! I actually love lime in most things, but it would have clashed big time with the house. I grabbed the last two 28" size .. they were quite a bit less costly than Ballards too.

Hmmmmmmmmm .. now that I compare, I guess they are not the exact same ones. Ballards has a fleur de lis on theirs, pretty darn close though!

*LOL* I was thinking all this time, whoa, they messed representing that green up big time .. guess not. *LOL*

Oh, those are perfect! Not too big....not too small....juuuuuuuust right. Love the contrast against the house color.

AWESOME, Zipdee!!! I'm so glad you were able to find ones you like locally! They look GREAT!

Thanks Kitchenkelly and Hoosiergirl :)

I'm wondering if I've made a boo - boo though. Love the pots, they're huge! I had to go and buy two more ferns to 'morph' together with the ones I already had to fill the planters.

Okay look at the pics, you can see the smaller planters I bought which are filled with double impatiens and a variegated sweet potato vines. The larger planters which have two ferns a piece in them. I bought boston ferns and bought a size too big, so I can't double them up, which I'm not happy about, but oh well. *LOL* We put the lattice on to cover the front of the foundation too.

Here's my question, the planters don't really work do they? My house looks more 'cottagy' ... are the planters too dark with this look? They're fiberglass and I could paint them .. I'm wondering if I should lighten the color up?

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Zippdee...I love the look that you have achieved. The Bostin's look wonderful. I don't know about the urns...will let those who do comment :)

How exactly did you do the lattice. I want it around the little play house in the back and that is exactly how I want it to look. Did your DH cut sheets of lattice and frame it ? Is there something at the bottom that holds it also ? Top is nailed to house ?? Any close up pics that show the detail woudl be great. If you want to just e-mail me you can so I don't hijack this thread. THANK YOU, c

I do think I'd lighten them up a bit, Zipdee. You're getting there -- it's looking fantastic! I love your lattice!

Trailrunner, Thanks! The lattice we used is the pressure treated kind, we went with that since it had much smaller holes than traditional lattice .. which gives a bit more 'period' look. All we did was cut it for size, then made a frame around it ( think like a picture frame, where the lattice is the picture ) and then brad nailed it to the porch trim ( top and sides). If you scroll up and look at the house with out the lattice on, there is a board on our porch that runs under the deck on the front, so nailing the framed lattice all along that and the sides provided lots of stability. I think we are going to do the same thing for the cottage around back too .. it will look a lot nicer than what was there. Let me know if I can help you out more :)

Hoosiergirl .. I agree they need to be lighter. Hmmm .. I'm not sure what to do with them though. I've been googling Anduze Vases/Urns looking for ideas.

I wonder how something like this would look?

Here is a link that might be useful: Urn

I'd keep the urns by the front door - they look really great. The ones on the walkway are ok, but instead of having the large urn sitting on the pavers, have you thought about putting some pots up your steps? You could get some glazed pots, even some bigger and smaller and make a group up the steps.

Um, not a fan of the gold urns even if they are $6500!

Caroleoh, thanks for the help and advice! :) I agree the smaller urns aren't working how they are right now, I'm kind of stuck with them for this season though.

Hoosiergirl ... The provencal look isn't working for you, huh? ;) I think my problem is I ended up getting too serious looking and too dark with my pots. I'm not sure how to correct that now though .. hmmmmmm.

Zipdee, you know what I might try if I were you, is to highlight the planters with a lighter color. Maybe a lighter copper color or even lighter. I'd take a paintbrush and dip it in the copper then take most of it off then highlight all but the recessed areas and leave those dark. I'd try that first then if it didn't work, I'd go with a lighter overall color. OR try to find a lighter colored planter at a local store and try it on for size ;-)

Your house looks great!! I'm not sure though about the tall urns and cottage no matter what the color. The style just seems much more formal to me to work with cottage. Or did I get that wrong and you're trying to move away from cottage?

Zipdee, How about playing on the variegated foliage of the hostas out front and add some variegated plants to the urns that will hang over the sides? Something like lamium, ivy or vinca? As it grows and hangs over the sides of the urns, the dark color will be softened.

Zipdde, it is just amazing to me what you do in such a short amount of time. I love the lattice. I agree with Hoosiergirl about lightening the pots a bit and also with Paster about the trailing plants. I would use vinca. It has colors similar to your hosta, and it grows like crazy. When I use it, I am always cutting it off. The ferns you have in your urns (can't remember the species) look like the kind that grow up. They will not hang over like the Boston ferns, so I do think that they will play well with the vinca vines. Love your house!!

Thanks so for the help everyone!

I had copper glaze and chip brushes already here, so I gave dry brushing them a shot. They did lighten some, but I'm not sure if it's enough, what do you think? ( you can see the other in the back ground unpainted ) I pass by Lowes everyday on the way to bring the girls in to school, so tomorrow I'll look into a the vinca.

On the smaller urns, do you think it would help if I move them a little off the pavers, closer to the other plants and stack them on something? Does that make sense? *LOL*

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Thanks Zippdee. where is pressure treated lattice available ? I do like the look much better and think you are right and it would do well with our 1890 "play house". Thanks again and I like the copper look to the urns. c

Caroline, We found the pressure treated lattice at Lowes. Good luck with your play house project, I'd love to see pics of the finished results :)

LOVE the copper, Zipdee! You do work FAST! It's hard to say if it'll be light enough without seeing them in place, but I'll bet with the trailing foliage that Paster suggested it'll look fantastic. (Maybe not cottage-y, but I think it will look great.)

I would try moving the smaller urns off the pavers -- maybe just outside of the railing. They seem to be crowding your stairs.

You're coming right along!

Hoosiergirl, here they are done and in back place. It's hard to get a really good shot right now, this is when everything is in very full/deep shade .. the sun is behind me blocked by the trees. Tomorrow morning I'll move the smaller urns around and see what they look like .. It's pretty hot out right now.

Oof .. looking at all these pics .. I can see all sorts of trim work to touch up and the porch floor to be painted. So many projects .. too few people to do them! *LOL*

What do you guys think, any better or look for a lighter color?

{{!gwi}}

Zipdee, I love the lighter look. The one on the right needs to be moved just a little so the medallions line up facing the front --- or maybe it's the camera angle.
For the smaller pots, maybe try putting one on the first step, then one on the ground - take away some of the symmetry. Just a thought.

I like the urns with the new look.

Re the Fernhill light - could you just get the globe and then maybe take 1-2 links out of the chain you currently have? Could save a few $$ that way?

I'd move the small urns out so that the edge of the base lines up with the edge of the brick. Your stairs will open up that way but you won't kill grass.

You are a fast mover on this project, zipdee!!

Zipdee, I love the lighter look of the copper. What do you mean by just dry brushing? Do you just take copper paint and put it on without water. Would that not make it flake off? You are so fast on everything you do. I am amazed.

The pots by the door look even better with the treatment! You are right that there is something off with the smaller ones. Not sure what it is.

Worse case you use them on the porch or somewhere else in the yard.

Thanks so much for the help guys! I'm going to try moving around the smaller urns to the suggested areas today. Once I find out where I want to put them, I'll probably dry brush them too. I hope to get over to Lowes some time today too and look for some trailing vines. We have some contracts coming in this morning, so I need to wait to sign for them first.

Lyban, dry brushing is what Hoosiergirl was describing, where you take a brush dip it in a little glaze or thinned paint, then brush off almost all of it before using. So you're using a very dry brush to just highlight the raised areas. I like to use the short bristled chip brushes for stuff like this. I just poured a little puddle of the copper glaze on one side of a paper plate, dipped my chip brush in, then used the other side of the plate to remove any excess off my brush.

I'm sorry Patser, I forgot to answer your question. The light we have up right now is broken, the whole thing needs to be replaced .. it wasn't a very expensive light. The chain was just spot welded to the base, it's now broke free and is not really an easy fix.

I like the light very much. It will complement your house beautifully. The urns... those on the brick walkway are unnecessary, imo, just too much, and I'm not sure that the large, coppery ones really go with the cottage ambience of your home.

It looks lovely, though, and the work you have done on it is wonderful!

Kswl .. I do agree with you that at the heart of things the planters aren't really meshing with the house and that's why I'm fussing at them. *LOL* While I love the planters, they'd look more at home with a house that had an old world look happening. I will probably have to just see them through for this year though. My DH likes them and he thinks like most guys do ... you just bought them, what do you mean you want to replace them ?? *LOL*

Okay guys .. if you were going to get me back on the cottage track and *if* ;) I was to replace the large urns .. what would you put there? I think my flower boxes need to come back for the porch rails, I'm probably going to plant the Annabelle Hydrangeas out front and remove those shrubs. What would you put by the front door that add interest, makes the entry appear wider and lends a cottage feel. Maybe I can just make my big urns/ferns wander to the patio area .. after all I have a big blank wall out there to fill. ;)

Zipdee, I don't think you're *that* far off from the cottage feel. I think adding the variegated trailing foliage to the urns will really help soften them up, which is all they need, IMO. I don't think you need to go "strict" cottage for it to feel right.

If you really want to go more cottage-y (and have the energy), I'd line the walkway with flowers (impatiens since your yard is shady). Adding a porch swing on the left side of your porch would be a nice touch (and move the plant to the right side of the porch or out in the yard, possibly).

Take a look at this cottage:

Here is a link that might be useful: cottage

Hoosiergirl, thanks for the picture. Because of the amount of kids we have playing over here all the time any flowers I planted beside the walk would end up toast before long. They're all really good kids and try hard to stay out of my flower beds, but something along the walk would end up getting trampled when they play out there. The porch swing is a definite and I've been looking for one locally. That 'plant' is a half dead ficus tree my husband has grown a rather odd attachment too. I try to kill it, he tries to save it .. as soon as we put up the porch swing it will find a new home. ( hopefully in the construction dumpster behind the house ;) ).

I hear you on the kids tearing up the flowers! I forgot you had kids.

One other thing that would be welcoming is a larger doormat, maybe a half-moon shape. I'm looking for one for us as well, and not having much luck (since I'm waiting for a really nice one that will hold up well and not rot our porch flooring), but I think they can look so appealing that I thought I'd mention it.

Zipdee, Thanks for that reply. I will try some copper glazing. I am a lover of your former flower boxes but I did not want to say it when I saw you got new urns and hanging ferns. But if it is the cottagy feel you want, then I think flower boxes is the way to go.

I'd definitely add your flower boxes! I thought that was the plan; I didn't realize you were thinking of leaving them off. I love them!

Honestly, Zipdee, I don't think you need *anything* at your front door. I think the door speaks for itself and the area doesn't need to appear wider (but I do still think a larger doormat would be nice). The stairs are nice and wide and welcoming. If you want to keep the planters, I don't think they detract from your home, but I don't think you really need them.

Thanks guys, it's been pouring rain here so I haven't moved anything, but it's given me time to think. My Dh and I need to make new window boxes, but wasn't sure if we'd get there this year or not, so I bought planters to add color and interest to the house. I think I'll talk to him about making the window boxes and if we can get to them, I'll edit, move stuff around to fit. For in living town we actually have a fairly large yard, I'm sure I can find a place to use everything. If we can't get to the window boxes this year, then I'll keep what I have in place for this summer and plan for next.

I *very* much appreciate all the help and advice that's been offered here, you all are the best!! :)

No problem, Zipdee. I hope that I've helped and not confused you more! I do hope you post pics after you have your Annabelles in and whatever else you end up doing. I love your home! Have fun "tweaking"!

How about a group of pots on one side, maybe one of the urns, and a couple of other sizes (a medium one and a smaller that could be one of the other urns) and then a rocking chair or a chair of some kind with a little accent table next to it on the other side of the door. A place to sit and watch the "kiddos" play. Also doesn't need to be symmetric on each side of the door which I think the non-symmetry lends it well to cottage.